Mask
by DetectiveConanFan13
Summary: Truth is an unknown masked crusader. Kid is the phantom thief that keeps crossing paths with them, whether he knows it or not.
1. Chapter 1

One day, a masked person appeared on a crime scene. The police did not trust the person who hid their face, which was quite understandable. However, the person solved the crime when the police were baffled and then took their leave, drawing no attention from the reporters who were swarming outside the doors. The case was high profile and no one knew who had solved it. All the police had was a phone number that the person had left behind. The words ' _Just in case you need it_ ,' were scrawled in very feminine writing, all loops and curls that seemed extraneous but just managed to avoid the designation. After they managed to secure several other samples of the person's handwriting, they realized that it changed any time anything was written, ranging from a barely legible chicken scratches to elegantly written letters.

It was then that the masked person gained their first name. A reporter wanted to credit the mysterious person and so they called him the "masked crusader of justice". The person appeared again and again, solving crimes and occasionally even stopping them. Some wondered why that person was on the scene of so many crimes, but too many of the criminals confessed willingly for there to be really be any sort of doubt.

A few speculated that the presence of the person caused crimes. These people were vehemently opposed by those who said that the person was simply called to the scene. A very small amount of people believed the person was a Shinigami given physical form. Some claimed it was all a coincidence and the person happened to be in the right place at the right time to lend their help.

Nevertheless, no one was ever quite sure what to think of the masked person.

The first time they spoke, it was in a male voice and the newspapers felt safe in reporting the story using a male pronoun. This quickly changed when, in their next appearance, their voice was that of an old lady. This was before the masked crusader was well-known, but it interested some people at the very beginning.

Many cases after their first appearance, a reporter finally managed to catch up with the masked figure and ask their name. Tilting their head and pausing for a moment, they replied, "I am Truth." After that, reporters occasionally managed to speak to the newly named Truth.

It wasn't very long after that before Truth ran into another high profile case. It involved a celebrity (Yoko Okino herself!) and, while the details were not released to the public, the fact that Truth had solved the case was. After that, many people knew of Truth, but not many knew much about them.

Of course, their rise to fame was nothing compared to the odd mix of rivalry and friendship they shared with Kid. When the first confrontation took place between the two and reporters swarmed around Truth, they laughed and said, "Kid-san is a very interesting individual who I'm sure will continue to be a source of amusement for a long time to come. I challenge _them_ to attempt to have it any other way." The cryptic quote was published in many newspapers and only the police noticed that whenever Truth was almost late to a heist, they received at least one new criminal with a note explaining exactly where they could find the necessary evidence to incarcerate them and the shootings that had been plaguing the heists were drastically reduced or completely absent.

The reporters, on the other hand, speculated on the exact nature of the relationship between the two. Kid himself had given what amounted to a statement on the topic as well (although his had been from a rooftop with glitter randomly appearing in the crowd) when a fan had been bold enough to shout the question.

"Truth-kun has earned my respect and appreciation, as well as my fear."

He said nothing else on the topic and Truth avoided questions dealing with their relationship with Kid extremely skillfully. Only one more piece of information was known to the general public.

"It took them a while to meet on the proper playing field. They've known each other longer than everyone thinks they have." Kudo Yuusaku was the one who said this and everyone wondered. It was confirmed the next Kid heist.

* * *

 **AN: So, this story is pretty much complete. I'll upload a chapter a day, but I'm undecided as to whether to end it where it currently ends or if I should add an epilogue of some kind, as it is a bit of an abrupt ending.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Ja ne!**  
 **~J. DCF**


	2. Chapter 2

It was an interesting phenomena. Not knowing exactly who had outsmarted him, that is.

Oh, Kaito knew that the detective at his heist was known as Truth, but that was not useful information. A dark blue cape disguised their body and, along with the hat and mask they wore, it was difficult to tell anything about them physically.

Truth had once been asked about why they felt the need to be so mysterious, but the answer hadn't been particularly useful either. "I'm just worried about the repercussions of my actions," they had said. Although why the "masked crusader of justice" was worried about it when he didn't do anything wrong in the first place…

Of course, the limited information Kaito knew was useless in the situation he had found himself in earlier that evening. What were the odds of happening upon Truth in the middle of a heist when they had never met before? Truth didn't seem to be all that interested in him at that moment, but it was forgivable when he considered the gun being pointed at them. Then again, Truth didn't seem all that interested in the gun either, so maybe it wasn't.

Truth somehow radiated idle curiosity when they caught sight of Kaito, who was currently dressed in full Kid regalia. How they did that, Kaito would kill to know, because he was pretty sure he couldn't have pulled it off.

"Kid-san," their voice said, neutral. Female voice this time, although it had a slightly mechanical edge that sent shivers down Kaito's spine. "Did you know?" Truth asked, turning their head towards the man with the gun. The question was obvious. Did you know Kid would come here?

"I don't keep up with Kid's activities anymore," the man replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He too wore a mask, but it was more of the garden variety masquerade mask, silver and shiny and too flashy by far for this sort of event.

Truth looked back at Kid before turning towards the sky and making a humming noise. "I guess we can't continue then. I can only imagine what the police would say. They would be here in moments, too." Truth began walking over to the fire escape when Kid decided that it was simply too boring to let such an interesting person walk away without even saying a thing.

"Truth-san." Truth halted and again managed to radiate curiosity. How did they do it? It wasn't body language or facial expressions, obviously, but it was impossible to mistake exactly what Truth was feeling. "Will I be seeing more of you in the future?" he asked warily. Having Truth around would be quite a problem so he needed to know if he had caught the other's interest.

Truth sauntered over and, seeming very smug about something, poked Kaito in the chest. "I don't deal with thieves. But you should already know that. Of course you don't though." Truth sighed. "The original Kid was far more enigmatic."

Kid blinked and immediately began running on automatic so as to let his mind ponder the information he had been given. Question after question ran through his mind, but, on the outside, he simply gave a very suggestive smirk and said, "It simply seems quite over dramatic when both parties are being cryptic and Truth-kun would never be straightforward. Besides, I could show you that dealing with thieves can have some amazing results." Kaito practically purred the last two words and privately wondered when he had started flirting with people he knew next to nothing about. Sure, he occasionally flirted with someone on the street or at a heist, but he at least knew their gender. He also wondered when he had decided to called the other 'Truth-kun', because he was certain that he shouldn't be.

Truth took a step away and purred back, "I'm sure I can find such results elsewhere." Truth walked towards the fire escape again and Kid vaguely wondered when the man with the gun had disappeared. They stopped for a moment, right before they were out of view, and said, "You're interesting though. You may see me around." Then Truth went down another rung on the ladder and was out of Kaito's sight.

Searching for the jewel he had recently stolen, he found it missing. His eyes widened as he realized exactly why Truth had poked him; Truth was a damn good pickpocket. Who would have guessed?

He was gone from the rooftop a minute before the task force even learned they were chasing a dummy and nine minutes before they checked the roof of the particular building he had been on.

Kaito had known he would find no trace of Truth, but he climbed down the fire escape anyway. He saw nothing indicating which direction Truth had went at the bottom though and shrugged to himself. Time to head home then, although the fact he was doing it sans the jewel irked him.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, who are you?" the teen next to him asked, body language radiating boredom rather than the tense fear everyone else had. The question was quiet enough that Kaito barely heard it, but it didn't attract their captors attention, so that was probably the point. He was staring up at the roof, but Kaito knew he was talking to him.

"Kuroba Kaito. You?"

"Kudo Shinichi."

"Kudo-san, are you in this sort of situation a lot?" Kaito tilted his head at the teen and received a piercing look in response.

Shinichi shrugged in an almost lazy manner that belied the intensely focused look he had. How that gaze had managed to escape the robbers' attention, Kaito would never know. "I guess. Bank robberies aren't that common, but I've been at the last three in the country."

Kaito suppressed the urge to laugh. This guy had to have the worst of luck. "So, how do these guys rate compared to the others?" he asked, an amused smirk on his face.

Shinichi let out a surprised snort, clapping his hand over his mouth as one of the robbers glared at him. It took him a moment to compose himself, but he then said, "Not even dangerous. Those aren't real guns, and I think only three of the five have any sort of training in fighting."

Kaito turns his gaze to the guns, unable to tell whether they were fake or not himself. A risky idea was beginning to form in his head based on this stranger's words. "How certain are you of that?"

There was something sharp in Shinichi's smile, a few too many teeth showing for it to be anything close to happy. "I know guns and even three is possibly a bit too high of a number."

Kaito hummed and met Aoko's eyes across the room. Their captors had deliberately separated anyone who knew each other, probably to prevent them from scheming. He, once again, resisted the urge to start laughing.

He gave her a smile, trying to convey that everything would be fine, even if it seemed like he was about to do something stupid. Perhaps it was a bit too much for a simple smile to convey for she simply looked steadily at him, body curled into a loose fetal position.

"So," Kaito said, voice deliberately slow. "If two hostages were to try to overtake them, how likely would they be to succeed?"

"Two teenage boys, with at least one having a background in soccer?"

"And the other with a background in gymnastics," Kaito confirmed.

Shinichi tilted his head back once more, obviously thinking it over. The sharp grin was back when he looked at Kaito. "I think they would succeed if they started in about one minute when half of the group is at the other end of the bank."

"Right then. We'll do it then," he said, voice almost too low for anyone to hear, but Shinichi nodded all the same.

"Want to meet up sometime after this?" Kaito asked, deliberately placing a hand on Shinichi's neck, making it quite clear that he didn't want to just be friends with this fascinating stranger.

A slow smile stole over Shinichi's face as he nodded. "Definitely." He let out a very long breath as they both simply stayed still. "Now."

They exploded into action, taking down the man closest to them before the others were even aware they were moving. They were almost constantly aware of the other's movements, working together flawlessly. Shinchi ducked between two desks as Kaito cart wheeled over them, landing right next to the man who had about to hit Shinichi while he was busy with the only female in the group. A hit to the back of the neck made her crumple on the floor while Kaito's opponent went down howling as Kaito viciously smacked the man's knee with a chair.

Aoko had gone after one of the men once she realized that no shots had been fired, even though they obviously could have taken a clear shot, taking him down neatly. What seemed to be a married couple had successfully attacked the last man, leaving him unconscious with a broken arm.

The hostages filed out and gave their statements before going home. Kaito waved at Shinichi, who was still talking to a police officer for the moment. He walked over to Aoko, who had finished before him and decided to wait up, and they both headed home. She seemed a bit shaken, but Kaito couldn't stop grinning. Lady Luck loved him, to make a bank robbery and hostage situation such a good event.

It was only after he arrived home that he realized the only useful information he knew about Shinichi was his name.


	4. Chapter 4

"Truth," Kaito breathed out, the word barely audible.

The masked figure turned their head toward him, managing to seem curious without doing anything once more. Damn them. Kaito had tried to figure it out in his spare time, but he never pulled it off as fluidly as Truth did. "Boy, what are you doing here?" They were using an elderly man's voice this time, once more with the mechanical note that set Kaito on edge.

Well, he couldn't say that he was looking around the area for escape routes for his heist. There really was no legitimate reason for his civilian persona to be skulking around the warehouses down at the dock. Instead of answering the question, Kaito decided to evade it.

"Is it any of your business?" he asked, bordering on rude.

Truth seemed amused. "My business is my own, as is yours." The mood shifted into something more serious as Truth said, "Whatever your business, it would be wise for you to vacate the area before the hour is out. I'd prefer no one to get injured while I work."

And everyone knew what sort of thing Truth considered work. "There's going to be a crime here?" Well then, this would be a useless escape route. He didn't want to disturb a crime scene if he could help it.

Truth shook their head. "Hopefully not. Please go."

Kaito obediently trotted off, but he scaled one of the buildings and watched as, half an hour later, Truth knocked against the building and then waited for someone to exit. They then ambushed the two men exiting one of the warehouses, disarming them in swift movements. One of the men almost managed to injure them, and Kaito found himself wishing he were down there, certain that he and Truth would work well together.

Kaito raised an eyebrow at his own thoughts even as Truth knocked the first offender unconscious and focused on the second, making him drop to the ground after a few moments. He didn't have the time to be Truth's sidekick or some other nonsense.

He watched as Truth went into the warehouse and came out with a girl clinging to them and stumbling every few steps. He recognized her. Her picture had been on the news, a large reward offered if she were to be returned safely to her family.

When he went home that evening, he saw Truth on the news once more, insisting that they didn't want the reward to the girl's insistent father before finally giving up and literally running away. Somehow, they still managed to seem suave even while being chased by an overenthusiastic father and daughter duo. It probably had something to do with how smoothly they managed to disappear into the crowd of reporters until no one was quite sure who had joined their ranks just moments before.

Truth was just as sneaky as their mysterious reputation would demand.

* * *

Kaito was elated. Even with the slight difficulty of finding a good escape route during the planning phase, the heist itself had gone off without a hitch. While the sense of contentedness he got from a perfect heist wasn't as good as the rush when he had to think on his feet and still got away, he allowed himself to bask in it.

A familiar head caught his attention, and he landed as fast as he dared on impulse. He hadn't seen Kudo Shinichi since the bank robbery after all, and while he wasn't entirely sure what to say while he was Kaitou Kid, he could probably narrow down the search criteria he currently had. He had been calling random Kudos and every variation of the name he could think of in Ekoda for two weeks, and he hadn't found the teen yet.

Shinichi turned at the soft sound of his landing and let out a disbelieving breath. "Kaitou Kid. Your heist shouldn't be over yet."

Kaito smiled at the teen, making a noise of agreement. "It usually isn't over so swiftly, but Truth-kun didn't put in an appearance tonight," he said, sounding a bit more annoyed than he had intended to. He had been rather irked about that, but it was understandable. Truth, no matter how often they seemed otherwise, was only human and they had been busy this past week. They probably had decided that it was better they skip the heist than attend and provide little challenge.

Shinichi said, "Oh," softly, as if something had just clicked in his mind. Perhaps something had. He shook his head slightly, a soft smile on his lips. "What are you doing talking to me then? You really should be running from the police, thief."

"Why aren't you trying to stop me?" Shinichi seemed confused, if the frown playing at the edges of his lips were anything to go by. "I heard about the robbery incident. I like to keep track of up and coming heroes."

Shinichi's mouth opened slightly but no noise came out for a very long moment, and Kaito thought he had stunned him until Shinichi said, "You were there at the bank that day. I was never identified as one of the hostages in the papers, and I lied about my involvement to the police."

Kaito fought the urge to straighten in surprise. Shinichi hadn't seemed the sort to lie to the police at all, let alone about something he didn't have to. Instead, he bowed to the teen. "You've caught me."

"Too easy, thief," Shinichi said, smirking. "I didn't lie to the police at all, but thank you for confirming that for me. I was wondering if you really kept track of all the people helping out in everyday crimes."

"Clever, clever boy," Kaito said, vaguely impressed. Maybe he should hack into police records the next time he was at the scene of a crime. It had seemed a bit of an extreme measure just to be able to contact Kudo this time around. "I would hardly call a bank robbery an everyday crime though."

Shinichi shrugged. "It might as well be for me. Robberies are the easiest sort of crimes to deal with."

Kaito laughed, and Shinichi seemed to realize how his words could be taken when talking to a thief as he grinned.

"As amusing as this has been, you do have a point when you said I should be running from the police. Bye, bye!" he said, winking at the teen as he walked right past him, ducking into an alley to quickly change and waiting a few minutes joining the slowly forming crowd of heist goers. By the time he walked out, Shinichi was gone from view and Kaito sighed. Lady Luck was so fickle sometimes.


	5. Chapter 5

Shinichi hummed lowly as he stood over an unconscious man loosely gripping his gun. His cape fluttered nicely in the wind and while it was lovely and dramatic, Shinichi still couldn't decide whether or not to be pleased with it even now. After all, it could be cumbersome-no matter how many things could be hidden in it-and his mother had suggested it. That alone had been almost enough for him to remove it, if not for the fact that he would have had to put up with her childish pleas.

' _Honestly_ ,' he thought, ' _You would think I was the adult sometimes._ '

Either way, he was almost late to the heist and he was certain he had missed something. The snipers he had run into hadn't seemed all that dangerous, and that was setting Shinichi on edge. The syndicate after Kid always sent someone that Shinichi had trouble dealing with, and the fact that they didn't seem to this time was extremely worrisome.

He turned from the man, casually kicking the gun from his grip as he went toward the fire escape, which he proceeded to head down far faster than the people who had designed the thing had probably ever intended, jumping off the side before grabbing onto part of the railing a floor or two down. He ignored the ominous creaking noise that came from the metal, knowing that it would support him, even if his shoulders did hurt a little from the sudden tug.

He made his way toward the heist spot, the crowd of fans in front of him making way for him to move through once they realized exactly who was in their midst. The sound of squealing alerted him to the fact that a few of his own fans were present and he grimaced, thankful that his outfit covered everything.

Once he was safely inside the building, Shinichi took one look around and realized what he missed even as he took a step back and disappeared into one of the many corridors the museum had. "Truth!" an angry voice called, even as he slipped away. He recognized it as one of the men he had given to the police before.

He hadn't thought that the syndicate would have been desperate enough to take the entire task force hostage.

He ignored the pounding footsteps behind him, quietly ensconcing himself in a supply closet. He wasn't deluding himself into thinking that he could hide here for the duration of the heist. Even if that were a safe course of action, his sense of justice would never allow that. He was simply trying to buy himself a moment to plan his next move.

Kid had probably been among the policemen captured, so he couldn't rely on the other to help quite yet. When everyone was distracted and disorganized after he had made his move, then Kid might be able to help, but he wasn't exactly certain. After all, Kid was a performer and not exactly trained for fighting, no matter how quickly the other moved when they were attacked.

He focused on stealth as he exited the small room, careful that no noise could be heard as he closed the door. He could not get caught unless he had no other option. After all, he couldn't leave the police alone in their captivity. Even Kid would have trouble getting them all out.

There was very little noise in the area. He could barely hear the quiet footsteps of the kidnappers now as they listen for any noises he might be making. The best thing to do would be to trick them into thinking he was part of their ranks, but he was not a master of disguise or even that adept of a liar most of the time add he usually only had to slip into a crowd and get lost in the people there, just another face in the masses. He would be discovered all too soon.

Each of the rooms in this museum were a different color, to further highlight the art or some nonsense that Shinichi really didn't care enough to listen to as he walked around with a guided tour group the day before, noting all the faults in security. He made his way to a room painted dark blue and scaled halfway up the wall, muscles straining as he grasped at the rails of the second floor walkway's guardrail. He was not perfectly blending in as his suit is a few shades too pale to match the blue that seems black without the lights on, but the colors matched enough that the untrained eye would pass right over him as no one would pay that much attention to that high up the wall. He was relying on that fact.

It seemed to take far too long for one of them to wander into the room, carelessly looking over the room, more focused on what his ears told him than what was in front of his face.

He knew that as Truth he had gained a reputation of approaching unseen, but this was ridiculous. Shinichi was on the defensive right now, and they should know it.

Unless they think he's trying to lure them away from their hostages.

As he dropped onto the man's shoulders and brought out a chloroform soaked cloth he had especially for occasions like these (which happened far more often than he would like to admit), he thought that that wouldn't be a bad plan if not for one thing.

His priority wasn't the hostages. His priority was disabling the criminals.

He was confident Kid could take care of the hostages for now.

Shinichi smirked as he exited the room silently, cloak billowing out ominously behind him. The man's partner was down before he even realized what was happening.

They didn't even know he was coming for them. He had the advantage once more.

He had deftly disabled about six more men before the first one was found. He didn't like the number of men he had seen roaming the halls. There were too many for him to feasibly take out alone, and he was loathe to put anyone else in danger.

"Truth! The bastard is attacking us! Move the hostages!"

Why? Why would they be yelling that? No organized group attacked the police without some sort of private way of communicating, and these men were organized. Shinichi had noticed the patrolling patterns that they had adopted to search the building for him, and the way they held their guns indicated a certain amount of experience using them.

So, they were lying. The hostages would be in the exact same place as before. Either way, it wouldn't matter until the end.


	6. Chapter 6

Half an hour later found Shinichi randomly wandering down the corridors looking for some guards he had missed. He had already managed to move the men he had attacked into the blue room he had been in originally and had dead bolted the door behind him.

The lack of guards made him uneasy once more, and Shinichi headed to the main entrance once more. There had been some noises from there every so often, but he had ignored them thus far, hoping that his faith in Kid wasn't misplaced.

A loud crack rent through the air and Shinichi abandoned his quiet movements in favor of running towards his destination.

That had been a gunshot.

It was followed by a complete lack of noise and he could hear his heart pound as he ran, pausing just a hallway away to catch his breath. His short pants were the only noise he could hear still and he forced himself to stay still even after they dissipated. No use running right into a possible trap, even if his instincts screamed at him that _he should be doing something_.

"Truth-kun's not coming," Kid's cool tones said. Shinichi could make out every word in the otherwise silence, as even the Kid fans had seemed to realize something was very wrong by this point.

Another shot rang out, and Shinichi flinched in sympathy as Kid intoned a pained curse. He turned the corner even as Kid taunted, "They're not stupid. They'll know it's dangerous and they won't come."

Shinichi knocked on the door, purely for dramatic effect, and allowed the noise to completely disappear before he threw the doors open, banging on the walls as he stepped through. If his face were visible, he would have sent Kid a faintly apologetic look. Instead, he ignored Kid's paler than usual face, which he hoped was caused by panic rather than blood loss, regardless of the red staining the once pristine suit.

"Ah. Snake-san." Shinichi inclined his head towards the man in a mocking manner. "It's been a while."

The man snarled wordlessly at him and his hand inched toward the gun at his waist. Shinichi's eyes swept the room, mentally noting the position of each person and coming up with a number of enemies too high for his liking. The task force seemed confused, but determined, and Kid was injured, but there was a glint in their eye that was all too familiar to Shinichi. He had a fighting force of his own then as neither Kid nor the task force wanted to go down without a fight.

He focused on the Snake once more as the man said, "It should have been longer."

Shinichi sighed, allowing it to sound more annoyed than he actually was. Adrenaline seemed to have wiped away any emotions that weren't useful, leaving him completely focused. "I didn't really choose tonight as our rendezvous. Although, I don't suppose you had much of a choice, what with your organization falling down around you." He took a step toward the man and leaned in slightly, making himself seem more menacing. "Tell me, Snake-san, how does it feel to know that your life's work will have been a waste? After you, no one will search for Pandora." Kid gave him a sharp look, surprise flashing across their features before it was expertly concealed.

Snake smirked, straightening, but Shinichi's eyes were locked on the gun the man was slowly drawing from its holster. "I don't know. Tell me, Truth-kun," he said, a mocking edge to his tone, "How does it feel to know that-"

Another shot rang out and Shinichi moved just an instant too late, feeling the bullet bury itself in his left shoulder.

"-you die tonight."

He fell back in an effort to dodge the second bullet coursing his way as Snake shot again, ignoring the cracking noise that his left arm gave as he landed awkwardly on it. It was probably broken, but that really wasn't as much of a problem as the man still shooting at him. He was focused once more as another bullet grazed his side.

He rolled away, smoothly rising to his feet and charging as the man ran out of bullets. Kid got there first, placing his own back to the wall and neatly restraining the man in a hold that was probably more painful than it strictly had to be.

"I rather agree with Truth-kun. Your goals won't be realized," Kid told the man as he struggled to break free. The other criminals seemed to be on pause, uncertain of if they should shoot and possibly kill their leader or hold their fire and let him be captured. Shinichi grinned. He would have been able to take the shot and be confident about hitting the target, so there were obviously no marksmen in their ranks.

Bringing his cloth to the man's face, Shinichi murmured, "It's alright, Snake-san. I'll make sure that your attempt is noted in your trial."

Kid grinned widely as Snake's body went slack, dropping him carelessly to the floor and exploding into motion in a manner that had Shinichi blinking at the familiarity he felt. He fought the urge to shake his head to clear it. He had never seen Kid fight before, so there was no reason to be familiar with the thief's style.

A smoke bomb dropped as the first gun was raised from the men on the second floor walkway, masking the entire first floor from sight in pink smoke that seemed too garish for the occasion. He was impressed for a moment that it barely affected visibility at ground level before Shinichi took it in stride, climbing the walls in such a causal manner that the part of the task force that wasn't already occupied with combating their kidnappers gapped at him. The fact that Kid was doing much the same didn't help matters at all. He swung himself up onto the second floor, kicking out at the man who was only a foot away and turning in surprise to view the figure who had burst out of the smoke. He went down neatly, but the woman on Shinichi's other side took aim and fired. He was hard-pressed to dodge the woman for a moment before she had to reload and he forced her into hand-to-hand combat.

Quite honestly, he was at his most dangerous when he was fighting in any capacity. He'd been fighting all of his life, after all, and the practice had to do something good at some point.

He was just a touch faster than her, but that was all he needed. It was almost painfully easy to jab at her sternum, and she was surprised by how painful the blow was and was trying to get her breath back from where it seemed to have fled to when he covered her mouth.

Kid was on his third man when the woman fell to her knees, Shinichi gently guiding her to the floor in an embrace that seemed almost like mockery of all proper relationships. Shinichi was launching himself over the railing after a moment, knowing Kid can take care of one man by himself, armed or not. He ignored his arm screaming in protest at being moved at all, let alone for such strenuous tasks. He was not looking forward to when the adrenaline rush wore off. If it was already this painful, it certainly wouldn't be getting better anytime soon now. He can hear Shiho in his mind, growling about reckless he is and does he try to injure himself, because it certainly seems like it. He ignored that too.

He landed heavily on the ground and decided that the task force was made up of some of the scariest individuals he knew. Nakamouri was calmly directing them to gather the criminals in the center, having already neutralized all of the threat they could have posed. Kid dropped almost soundlessly down next to him, and Shinichi decided to ignore the fact that that meant the thief probably had marked precisely where he had dropped into the smoke despite the fact that the thief had been fighting someone else at the time. "Nakamouri-san is impressive," Shinichi offered as he turned back to the wall and began scaling again. Might as well gather all of the kidnappers in one place while they could, he reasoned.

The fact that he can carelessly toss their bodies over the railing did not factor into the decision… much.

Once they were all gathered, the adrenaline was fading and the pain was increasing in intensity. Kid was looking really pale, and Shinichi knew he probably wasn't looking much better behind his mask. His vision was dangerously close to hazy, and Shinichi had been shot enough times to know that he had to leave right that instant.

"I'll be going then, Nakamouri-keibu," he said and was already sweeping away when Nakamouri began yelling about how he had been shot and he was in no condition to leave.

"Goddamnit, come back here, you idiots!" Shinichi looked at Kid, who was trying to sneak off as well. They exchanged a sly look before both sprinted off. Shinichi slid through the now smashed open due to gunfire window while Kid went the more traditional route and escaped neatly through the door.

It was by silent agreement that the task force did not take a sample of the blood smeared across random surfaces of the room.

It was also by silent agreement that Shinichi wandered over to the other side of the building and met Kid already lounging against the wall. "Pandora?" Kid questioned rather than greeting him.

"Nasty business that. Immortality isn't exactly the most unique thing to be after, and you'll hear the rumors if you listen hard enough." Never mind the fact that he had been searching for clues about a completely different organization when he had caught wind of Pandora. It was a rumor that circulated in the underworld, but Shinichi ignored it until it was connected with Kid's name. "Don't worry. Pandora is easy enough to destroy once you get a hold of the thing. Once everything is over, I'll help you with that."

Kid blinked in surprise at the statement before smiling. "Will that be the day you tell me what you're doing?"

Shinichi laughed, the sound sounding odd when he heard it through the voice modulator installed in his mask. His voice today was too feminine and strict-sounding for the noise to be anything close to natural.

"By the time your hunt comes to a close, you'll know what I've been doing. It'll be a bit hard to miss by that point." Really, the fall of the syndicate he was after would be hard to miss. Snake's organization's days were numbered with the capture of its leader, so he could focus more of his efforts on his own problem rather than keeping them from becoming a threat to the organization he was after. He would hate to see the fallout of a battle between criminal organizations such as those.

He was hardly surprised when Kid collapsed from their leaning position on the wall at that point. They had obviously been barely hanging onto consciousness at that point, and Shinichi caught them. He huffed slightly. "You really are an idiot, thief. What am I to do with you now?"

He hoisted the thief up onto his shoulder, ignoring the lance of pain that went through him, and, mindful to avoid any main streets, began the journey toward his car. He dumped the thief into the backseat where they gracelessly lay, blood already smeared on his seats. He was not entirely sure he could find someone to reupholster that who wouldn't ask questions about the blood. He debated driving them both to Agasa's house, deciding that he was already going to get scolded for being reckless, so he might as well try.

He barely got there, hanging onto consciousness by sheer force of will before calling out for assistance once he was neatly parked. Shiho herself came outside, showing just how worried they must have been as Shiho rarely ventured outdoors out of fear of drawing attention.

"Kudo-kun," she sighed. "You're far too reckless."

Shinichi bit out a laugh before he fainted.


	7. Chapter 7

"Kudo-kun, your guest is awake. Think twice next time before you bring home a curious thief," were the words that greeted Shinichi upon his return to consciousness. He immediately noted that he was in his usual semi-formal attire and that Shiho sounded decidedly annoyed. He wondered vaguely how she always seemed to know the instant he became awake, but it didn't register as important.

"Can't you deal with one thief?" he asked, not even bothering to hide the amusement in his voice, slowly opening his eyes. He didn't feel the urge to recoil from the lights that seemed almost too bright and glanced toward the still dark window. It had either been a very long time that he had been out or a short one. He hoped for the latter and assumed the former, mind already making excuses for his absence to give to the school, different ones depending on how long it had been. He noticed Shiho had already put both a splint and sling on his arm.

"It's only been four hours," Shiho said, and his mind stopped. It was completely quiet for a few moments before he was standing, ignoring the slight vertigo he experienced as he began to head toward the door. "You should have your arm properly checked in a hospital."

He stopped once again, ignoring the second remark. The hospital was secondary to the immediate concern of the thief in his neighbors' house. "How are we to explain their current location?"

Shiho smirked and said, "His current location." His suddenly indignant expression made her chuckle. She knew he had refused to gather information about the thief outside of their odd games and telling him the gender of the thief was a petty yet satisfying form of revenge for the entire situation he had created by being shot, breaking his arm and bringing a thief to her home. "I'll leave it up to you," she told him flippantly, already walking off toward downstairs where she had set up her lab. She probably knew how irritating it was to suddenly have no choice but to find out more information about the thief, if only to help the man out while he was injured.

He glared at her retreating back for a moment before opening the door, gritting his teeth against the pain of using not the broken arm but the one where his shoulder had taken a bullet. He would have to remember to ask Shiho for some painkillers later. She probably had forgotten on purpose.

He briefly considered donning his disguise as Truth once more, but decided that if Kid was being forced to reveal some of his secrets, it wouldn't be fair for Shinichi to hide himself. In the end though, he knew he was just stalling due to reluctance to unmask the thief.

No use delaying the inevitable though, and it was probably best to not leave the thief alone for long. He didn't want to think of the sort of mischief a thief like Kaitou Kid could get up to in the home of a slightly mad professor.

He needn't have worried. Agasa was currently regaling an increasingly confused teen with tales of some of his more spectacular experiments (all of them failures, which was why the stories seemed to feature a disproportionate amount of explosions).

"Professor, it's nice to see you again," Shinchi said, interrupting a burgeoning rant on the solar panels that the man was working on for a new skateboard for him and how they wouldn't stop exploding when charged for thirty minutes.

Agasa turned toward him, a grandfatherly smile on his face as he exclaimed, "Shinichi-kun, you're awake! You should still be asleep. It's not good for your health to be wandering about right now." The smile had morphed into a slight frown by the end of the scolding and Shinichi was smiling.

"Most of the things I do aren't good for my health," he said, affecting a nonchalant manner as he shrugged. "What's one more?"

"Shinichi-kun, you have to keep in top form. Imagine what the soccer team would say if their top player was out for the season!" They both knew that the soccer team was the least of Shinichi's worries, but Agasa had a habit of using trivial concerns to make his point. Shinichi was sure it was because Agasa understood that Shinichi could sometimes only see the bigger picture to the exclusion of all else.

Shinichi simply smiled at the man and turned his attention to the suspiciously quiet thief. He stared for a few moments at the all too familiar face. It took a few moments before he realized that he had been hit on by Kaitou Kid's civilian persona and reciprocated, and then he was blushing.

He worked his mouth for a few seconds, and Agasa subtly excused himself from the room. The door clicked shut as Kaito said, "Kudo Shinichi?" Shinichi took little comfort in the fact that Kaito sounded just as disbelieving as he himself felt.

He nodded numbly and asked, feeling redundant, "Kuroba Kaito?" Kaito nodded and they lapsed into silence, staring at each other.

He had known the man had been at the bank heist, but, somehow, it hadn't occurred to him that Kid was Kuroba Kaito. Shinichi felt like a bit of an idiot, but he had assumed Kid's civilian identity avoided attracting attention due to the man's nightlife. Instead, it made sense that the thief grabbed attention no matter what identity he was assuming.

After a few minutes, Kaito attempted to shift into a more comfortable position, an ill-disguised grimace overtaking his features, and Shinichi crossed the room, positioning Kaito and the pillows he had. "This doesn't count as our meet up, right?" Shinichi asked, vaguely surprised that he said anything at all and even more surprised at the words that came out of his mouth.

Kaito froze for a second before staring directly at Shinichi, face unreadable before he grinned. "Nah," he said, drawing the word out in a manner that would seem lazy if not for how tense the teen was. Shinichi wasn't sure if Kaito was just feeling paranoid or if he was trying to avoid aggravating his injuries with careless movements. He wasn't sure which he preferred either as the former was Kaito being uncomfortable but the latter was Kaito possibly being more seriously injured than he let on.

Shinichi didn't sigh, but it was a close thing. Things were so much less complicated when Kuroba Kaito was just a cute guy who flirted with him during a failed bank robbery and Kaitou Kid was just a mysterious thief who Shinichi had a cordial professional relationship who was trying to stop his own criminal organization.

Still, Kuroba Kaito was grinning flirtatiously at him, regardless of any secret identity. Perhaps it didn't need to be as complicated as Shinichi was making it in his head.

* * *

 **AN: So, this is the end of it. This entire thing kicked off because I wanted to write the interactions of their different identities, which is why it ends when the identities are revealed. I might be able to write more, but it'd probably be in a different story and delve into things like how Shinichi ended up as Truth. This story's focus was on their interactions, not their backstories or goals, so it wouldn't fit here if I do write anything more.**

 **Leave a review to tell me what you think of the story! I had fun writing this one, and I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thank you for reading.**

 **Ja ne!**  
 **~J. DCF**


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